Hamilton County’s open-intake animal shelter, Cincinnati Animal CARE (CAC), is asking the community for help identifying a person who threw a dog over a 6-foot fence into the facility’s play yard.
CAC says the incident happened Wednesday just before 6 p.m. Surveillance video shows a car pull up alongside CAC’s fence. A person, who cannot be seen clearly in the video due to the fencing, is seen getting out of the car with a dog before walking the dog up to the fence, picking her up and throwing her over the fence into CAC’s play yard.
Staff rushed to help the dog, who was seen limping after being thrown. She was vaccinated and put in a holding kennel where she was assessed for further injuries.
“This kind of act is completely unnecessary and is totally unacceptable. We were still open when the dog was thrown over the fence; staff was available to help this person if they would’ve just asked. Animals being dumped or abandoned at the Hamilton County shelter is sadly not unusual, but throwing an animal over the fence crosses a line. With the help from the community, we hope that we can identify the individual seen in the footage, and they will be prosecuted by our Hamilton County Dog Wardens,” Meaghan Colville, CAC’s shelter director, said in a press release. “We want our community to understand that it never needs to come to this — we are here, we can provide resources and rehoming assistance, and we care.”
CAC is now asking the community for help, with the hope that someone recognizes the dog or the car and can identify the person responsible. The car appears to be a black Honda Accord, with no visible front license plate. Anyone with information is asked to contact Hamilton County Dog Wardens directly at B.Ward@cincycare.org or by calling the shelter at 513-541-7387. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
Hamilton County Chief Dog Warden Beth Ward says people abandoning their pets at CAC’s facility is not uncommon. This year to date, 99 pets have been abandoned at or around the facility. Now, CAC is stressing that it has resources available to help pet owners in need. The Community Support Program can provide Hamilton County residents with pet assistance, offering free dog and cat food; pet supplies, including beds, toys, clothing; and additional items like cat litter, puppy pads and more. The Community Support Pet Pantry is open every day from 1-5:30 p.m. and is accessible from the back entrance of the main shelter at 3949 Colerain Ave. in Northside.
For more information on CAC’s Community Support Program, rehoming assistance and resources, contact WeCare@cincycare.org.
This article appears in Oct 16-29, 2024.
